The softball team went 2-1 in a weekend series against Tarleton State University improving them to 13-32 on the season and 9-9 in Western Athletic Conference games.
With two weeks left in the season the Wildcats move into fifth place in the WAC standings with their series win over the second place Tarleton State Texans.
The first game of the series was a 6-3 loss for ACU with the Texans shutting out the Wildcats after the first inning. Ella Beeman, sophomore right-handed pitcher from Lowell, Arkansas, pitched all seven innings of the first game. She gave up 10 hits and six runs.
After the first game Head Coach Jo Koons told her team that they needed to finish strong and not go through the motions after taking the lead in the first inning.
The Wildcats responded well in the last two games winning 2-0 and 5-2. In the second game of the series both teams were scoreless until the fifth inning. When Taylor Bachmeyer, graduate right-handed pitcher from Pflugerville, hit a home run that brought in one run to give ACU the lead and eventually victory.
In the final game of the series ACU scored one run in the first inning but Tarleton scored two runs in the second inning. The Wildcats were able to shut them out the rest of the game. In the bottom of the fifth inning, ACU scored five runs. One run came off a double from Elizabeth Schaefer, junior right-handed pitcher from Rockwall. The other three runs came from a home run from Catrin Hoffman, redshirt senior utility player from Emory.
Lina Russo, senior right-handed pitcher from Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, pitched in the final two games of the series, giving up eight hits and two runs in the 14 innings she pitched.
Starting on Friday, ACU will be at California Baptist University for its next series. CBU is currently third in the WAC.
“I think that’ll be the challenge going into this weekend; can we respond sooner and come out with that same mentality,” Koons said. “It’s big for them knowing they’ve won the last two series in WAC and that they’re capable of it and believing in themselves.”
After CBU the Wildcats will travel to Lubbock to play Texas Tech University before returning home to play their final series against Grand Canyon University.
The Wildcats previously played against Texas Tech on April 2 losing 7-3 at home. GCU and CBU are two top teams in the WAC. With wins against these teams ACU could secure a top three seed in the WAC tournament.
